Do Je-hae edits news stories as part of the AI team.
Moon grants special pardons ahead of elections
The Moon Jae-in administration on Monday announced special pardons. From top to bottom are former Gangwon Province Governor Lee Kwang-jae, Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education former superintendent Kwak No-hyun and Han Sang-kyun, former leader of the hardline Korean Confederation of Trade Unions. Yonhap
By Do Je-hae
By Do Je-hae
The Moon Jae-in administration on Monday announced special pardons for a host of politicians ahead of the general elections in April 2020.
The Ministry of Justice announced a list of 5,174 individuals to be pardoned and reinstated as of today, including Election Law offenders, conscientious objectors and activists, among others. There were 267 politicians on the list, including former Gangwon Province Governor Lee Kwang-jae who was a close associate of the later former President Roh Moo-hyun, and Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education former superintendent Kwak No-hyun. Also included were former lawmakers of the main opposition Liberty Party of Korea, such Shin Ji-ho and Gong Sung-jin.
Han Sang-kyun, former leader of the hardline Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), also made the list.
Some notable figures were excluded, including Han Myeong-sook who served as a prime minister during the Roh administration. Also excluded was former President Park Geun-hye who has been jailed on corruption charges following her impeachment in 2017.
There has been much interest on whether Lee Seok-ki, a former leftist lawmaker who led the disbanded United Progressive Party until he was charged with violating the National Security Law, would be reinstated. But he was also excluded.
The conservative bloc has called for a special pardon for Park, claiming she was a victim of the liberals' “ploy” to take power. Moon's predecessor was removed from office prematurely following a massive corruption scandal involving her and a close confidant. “The former president has yet to be included in the list, as her sentence has not been finalized,” presidential spokeswoman Ko Min-jung said during a briefing at Cheong Wa Dae, Monday. “Lee Seok-ki is not included because he is different from other political criminals.”
This is the third round of special pardons conducted under the Moon administration. Coming ahead of the general elections, the timing of the special pardons has aroused criticisms. But Cheong Wa Dae stressed that it is aimed at promoting social unity.
“There are no political considerations in the special pardons,” Ko said. “The special pardons for the New Year are the third of their kind since Moon took office. They are pardons for the people's livelihoods that reduce the burden on the working class and an amnesty to strengthen the people's unity. Only a small fraction of people involved in political crimes were pardoned.” The presidential office explained that only about 10 percent of the people on the list were convicted for violating the election law, a significant drop from previous such pardons.
Despite Cheong Wa Dae's explanations, speculations are rising that the special pardons were conducted for political reasons. The former Gangwon Province governor lost his post in 2011 after being jailed for receiving illicit political funds from business tycoon Park Yeon-cha, who was known to have close ties to former President Roh. With the special pardon, he has regained eligibility to run in elections. Already, there are speculations that his comeback could impact the elections if he decides to run in the Gangwon region, given his long ties to the region as a two-time lawmaker and governor representing Gangwon.
There are also speculations that the special pardon of Han has to do with appeasing the labor sector ahead of the elections.
Many of Moon's labor and employment policies have angered unions and the President is eyeing their support to salvage his ratings ahead of the general elections, largely considered as the biggest test of public sentiment toward his administration. His pledge to abolish irregular employment, for example, has achieved little progress, with Korea still holding the highest rate of irregular workers among OECD countries.
Moon's job approval rating hovered slightly over the 40 percent range in recent months, a considerable drop from his performance in the earlier part of his presidency.
Social unity has been one of the values that Moon has focused on since the beginning of his presidency. But his administration has been slow to achieve it, with social polarization and political division only intensifying amid a range of scandals that have hurt his presidency.